An employee wearing protective gloves and a face mask is seen at Yorkshire Fisheries in Cobridge, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), Stoke-on-Trent, Britain, April 27, 2020.
London, United Kingdom - Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government's stance had not altered and that there was "weak science" supporting the guidance suggested by Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Published: Tue 28 Apr 2020, 11:31 PM
Last updated: Wed 29 Apr 2020, 1:47 AM
The UK government has rejected the Scottish government's new guidance that people should wear face coverings in shops and on public transport, insisting evidence for the preventive measure is "weak".
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Tuesday declared that cloth coverings should be employed when social distancing was hard to maintain.
But, asked whether the recommendation was likely to be adopted across the UK, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government's stance had not altered and that there was "weak science" supporting the advice.
Speaking at the daily coronavirus briefing, Professor Angela McLean said the government's scientific advisory committee, Sage, found there was "weak evidence of a small effect in which a face mask can prevent a source of infection going from somebody who is infected to the people around them".
She said: "Under our current circumstances, anybody who has symptoms really must stay at home - that's the thing that people have done so brilliantly - but we are also concerned that some people are infected who don't have symptoms, or maybe don't have symptoms yet, and that is the reason that Sage has put so much effort into looking at this question.
"But the answer is clear that the evidence is weak and the effect is small, and we have passed that on to our colleagues in government with which to make a decision."
The fresh advice for everyone in Scotland above the age of two to wear face coverings made of cloth, including scarves, applies on public transport and in shops.
"We are recommending that you do wear a cloth face covering if you are in an enclosed space with others where social distancing is difficult, for example public transport or in a shop," Nicola Sturgeon said during her daily Covid-19 briefing.
Ms Sturgeon's use of the more general term of coverings distinguishes them from the use of medical-grade masks, amid fears an increased public uptake could cause a shortage for National Health Service (NHS) workers.
Scotland has not made their use obligatory, stressing evidence over their use was "still limited".
But the first minister said there were benefits in wearing coverings to reduce transmission from individuals who are not yet exhibiting symptoms.
Leaders across the UK have all said they want to maintain a unified response to the pandemic.
But Ms Sturgeon has stressed she "will not hesitate" in taking Scotland in a different direction, while the Welsh government announced an extension to the lockdown ahead of other countries last week.
Meanwhile, Britain said it would extend reporting of deaths in the coronavirus outbreak to care homes and the wider community, after new statistics indicated the country had been under-reporting its toll.
Until now, only the deaths of people who have tested positive in hospital have been reported: 586 more deaths were reported in the period to 1600 GMT (8pm UAE) on Monday, taking the official toll to 21,678.
But new data from the Office for National Statistics counting community fatalities in which Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate indicated a higher figure, putting Britain on track to be as badly affected as the worst-hit nations -- or worse.
"From tomorrow (Wednesday), we will publish not just the number of deaths in hospital each day but the number of deaths in care homes and the community too," Health Secretary Matt Hancock told reporters.
"This will support the ONS and CQC (Care Quality Commission) weekly publication and all add to our understanding of how this virus is spreading day by day, and inform the judgments we make to keep people safe."
According to an AFP tally from official sources at 1100 GMT on Tuesday (3pm UAE), the United States had the most deaths at 56,253, followed by Italy with 26,977, Spain with 23,822 and France with 23,293, then Britain.
- Record numbers -
The latest ONS figures showed a record 22,351 deaths had been registered in England and Wales in the week ending April 17 -- roughly double the five-year average and the highest weekly total since 1993.
A total of 21,284 deaths in just England were due to coronavirus, compared with the official announcement on that day on hospital deaths from National Health Service (NHS) England of 13,917.
Hancock confirmed that 4,343 had died from Covid-19 in care homes but said the proportion represented about a sixth of the total toll.
"It was just below what we would see in normal times," he added.
But he rejected claims the government had not done enough to protect elderly residents at most risk from the disease, and social care staff working on the frontline.
"It's something we've focused on right from the start (of the outbreak) and something that's been a huge challenge throughout," he added.
One of the difficulties in getting accurate data was due to the estimated 15,000 largely private care home sector being part of some 10,000 different organisations, he said.
The government's national testing coordinator, John Newton, said 25,000 tests had been carried out in care homes so far.
- 'Higher level of suffering' -
Getting a true picture of the number of Covid-19 deaths in Britain is complicated, as the devolved administrations in Scotland and Northern Ireland report deaths outside hospitals separately.
That -- and different reporting periods for registrations of deaths -- has led to varying estimations in the British media.
But the statistics underline a wider problem for Britain's government, which is under pressure to reveal its strategy for easing a national lockdown imposed on March 27.
"The scale of the deaths in care homes is becoming clear from the ONS figure and confirms our fears of a much higher level of suffering," said James Naismith, director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute and University of Oxford.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who returned to work on Monday after recovering from Covid-19, indicated the stringent restrictions would not be lifted anytime soon.
Hancock said the key criteria remained getting the daily death toll and infection rates down.
The government has set itself a target of testing 100,000 people a day for Covid-19 by the end of the month, and has widened its regime to care homes, the over-65s, and people unable to work from home.
It is also looking to launch a smartphone contact tracing app in the coming weeks to alert members of the public if they have been close proximity to anyone who develops symptoms.
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